Garden Tomato Soup by Barbara
It was time to harvest all the remaining cherry tomatoes and pull out the plants. This year I put two plants in two deep pots with cages and they produced an abundance of cherry tomatoes. We used them in a variety of ways: as snack food and in salads... and in pasta sauce... I even tried pickling them, but we still had a bunch on the vines. I'd say I picked about 2.5 pounds.
So, I washed them all and set about making a tomato soup with ingredients we had on hand. I used chicken broth and leftover gelee from roasting chicken which gives the soup an underlying heartiness without interfering with the tomato flavor. Our tomatoes weren't very sweet, so I added some honey to the pot. And then, when it wasn't tomato-y enough, I decided to add a can of tomato paste. The result was a creamy soup without having to use cream.
Aside from the tiny seeds, the soup was excellent. If you don't want any seeds, then you could strain it through a sieve before serving.
---Barbara
Garden Tomato Soup
Makes 2 quarts
2.5 lbs of cherry tomatoes, washed
2 large sweet onions, cut into crescents
3 - 4 T. butter, unsalted
1 bay leaf
1 t. dried basil
Salt
1 quart (4 cups) chicken stock, low sodium
gelee from baked chicken (optional)
2 - 3 T. honey
1 small can (6 ounces) of tomato paste
In a 3 quart saucepot with cover, saute the onions and garlic in butter with a pinch of salt until they become translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the washed tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt again. Add the bay leaf and dried basil. And chicken gelee.
Cover with chicken stock, adding additional water if needed.
Cover and cook for at least 1/2 hour on a low simmer.
Remove from the heat. Puree with a handblender until smooth.
Taste and season with salt, if needed.
Return to the stove and keep warm until time to serve.
---Barbara
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